


Unexpected Survivor

by Ironfairy88



Series: Unexpected [1]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Adoption, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Original Character(s), Past Child Abuse, Sexual Content, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-13
Updated: 2018-03-13
Packaged: 2019-03-30 20:42:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13959627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ironfairy88/pseuds/Ironfairy88
Summary: When two people with similar pasts meet in the present and due to unexpected circumstances causes old childhood feelings and memories to come flooding back what will the two of them do? Abandon the future or brave the past to move forward?Short Chapters.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own any part of fairy tail or it's charaters. Original charaters are mine alone, as well at the story idea.

It was a normal day in the Fairy Tail guild hall, numerous voices yelling, ridiculous amounts of booze being consumed, and even the occasional chair flying across the room. The fire dragon slayer Natsu, and the ice make mage Gray, started a guild wide brawl once again, Erza's cake inevitably ended up on the floor, causing blades from her heaven's wheel armor to go flying, nearly missing Gajeel, contently pouting in his normal corner of the guild. Jet and Droy had left on a mission, leaving Levy to spend all her free time in her books, Lucy was trying without much success, to get the two boys and Erza to stop fighting all the while Mira looked on from the bar with her usual cheery smile. The master sat on the bar counter watching all of his children, his old heart filled with love and pride for the brats. Most of the mages in the guild were orphaned or abandoned at such a young age that they had come to view the old man as a father, or in the case of the dragon slayers, gramps, as he was often called. "Master" Mira whispered to the old man, " You think it's time to break it up yet? It's getting out of hand" He waved off the white haired barmaid. Clearing his throat, he stood, wobbly on the bar, "Alright brats that's enough for today! Y'all got a job board filled with missions, now get!" He plopped down on the bar, taking a swig of ale from his mug. "Better?" He asked Mira with a smile. "Of course Master, thank you" 

Natsu, Lucy and Happy immediately took a flyer for a monster hunt on the other side of Clover Town, waving as they left the guild hall. Gray, requested Juvia come along on a day mission to help a village regain its water supply. Erza sat down at the bar requesting another slice of cake before she would even look at the job board. Mira walked over to where Levy was nose deep in a book, after many attempts to get her attention, she resorted to force, ripping the book out of her hands, using her take-over magic to transform her hand in to demon soul, and watching it turn to ash in her hand much to Levy's horror. "What the hell Mira?" Levy was pissed, the one thing you don't do to Levy McGarden is destroy a book. Mira just smiled sweetly at the blue haired mage. "Well I did try the nice way" Levy crossed her arms and sat back down heavily, it would take her months to find another copy of that book. Gajeel could be heard laughing in his corner. She shot him a deathly glare causing him to choke, and sputter before shutting his mouth and adverting his attention elsewhere. "Anyway sweetie I have a very important job request for you, it asked for you specifically." Mira regained the younger mage's attention. "Oh?" Levy reach out for the flyer, she was dangling in front of her. Gajeel's attention quickly turned back to the bluenette across the guild. "Oi Lily go find out about the job" He sent the little black exceed over to where Levy and Mira were conversating, landing in Levy's lap as he so often did when he needed a good ear rub. 

"You will be gone for a good little while it's all the way over in the River Village. Unfortunately you will have to cross the Forgotten Desert to get to it or you could take the mountain pass and go around but you would have to go through the Mysterious Canyon so it's really up to you, either way you will need protection." Mira warned Levy of the dangers that could be found in both locations. She gave a heavy sigh, "Who would be willing to go on such a dangerous mission? Honestly what is so important that they couldn't send me by carrier?" Mira handed her the mission flyer, "Oh I see" Levy looked over the flyer, it was a translation job, but not one that she expected. She was to translate an old scroll for a couple that couldn't be sent by carrier in River Village. The job seamed simple enough and paid amazingly well, obviously covering the extra travel costs that it would entail, along with the dangerous paths to get there. Lily sat there in Levy's lap listening to all the details Mira had to offer, from types of monsters they could come across, to all the different types of gangs and bandits that could ambush her along the way. He could feel her uneasiness at the mission, and took the chance to speak up. "Me and Gajeel could always come with you, maybe Erza and Wendy would like to come along?" She wrapped her arms around the exceed hugging him tightly. "Thank you Lily!" Mira smiled and walked back to the bar leaving the two of them at the table. Lily waved Gajeel over. 

"Oi shrimp got us a job?" He gruffly said as he sat down next to her, his large frame dwarfing her's in comparison. "I got me a job" She said rather matter of factly with a grin. "But I supposed I could use a couple of strong, handsome bodyguards" Lily took to snickering as Gajeel turned a bright red to match Levy's equally bright red cheeks. They had been flirting around the fact that they like each other for well over a year now, maybe this long trip would be just what they needed to make it official. Lily had noticed, almost as soon as he was inducted into the guild that the two had feelings for eachother, both too stubborn and shy to do anything about it. "So then when do we leave boss" Gajeel leaned over her small frame to snatch up the flyer. "Hey!" he held it over her head looking at the paper as she jumped up and down trying to get it back from him. "Alright, alright here's yer paper back short stuff" She snatched the flyer out of his hands, her bottom lip stuck out in a pout as her cheeks puffed up. "Stupid Gajeel!" she turned on her heels, stomping out of the guild, dragon slayer and exceed in tow. 

She stomped all the way down the road to the Magnolia Library, much to Gajeel's delight, he had a very nice view of her back side as she scurried ahead of him. He could have easily caught up with a few long steps but opted for a scenic view instead. Lily shook his head, as he flew over head. "Levy why are we heading to the library?" He implored since the dragon slayer behind them was in his own world at the moment. "Research on which path would be better to take." He nodded in agreement as they walked through the doors of the great library. She strode over to a few map scrolls, picking up a couple and handing them to Lily, before heading over to a nearby bookshelf handing book after book to Gajeel. "Oi shrimp we don't need all these books, I can beat anything we come across" She scoffed at his arrogance. "I'm sure you can Gajeel" a hint of sarcasm in her voice "but the elements are more of a problem, if we take the desert path we will need provisions, like ample water and enough food for at least 2 weeks per person" He groaned. "And if we take the mountain pass we will most likely need the same, plus extra medical supplies as the mountains are more dangerous in the sense of getting cuts, scrapes, poisoned or even a broken bone." Lily chimed in as well. "Plus our packs will require more clothing in the mountain, versus the desert where we can pack lighter clothing."

Gajeel sat there silently brooding as the two talked back and forth about what to bring, what could stay, and what they could buy along the way. A few hours had gone by and he had dozed off, quietly snoring while to two put the last orders of business together. Levy poked the dragon slayer in the side, promptly waking him up. "Oi, whatdaya do that for?" He stretched his arms over his head, an audible pop echoed through the silent library, causing Levy to wince at the sound. "Time to go Gajeel, we have a lot of packing to do, here is Lily and your list" She handed him the paper. "It will take us about 3 weeks to get there, mostly by foot or if we're able to barter along the way, maybe a caravan can take us part of the way." Just the mention of a caravan drained all the blood out of Gajeel's face. "We leave in two days, I'll see you at the guild hall, 8am on Sunday." With that Levy bounded out of the doors off to Fairy Hills to pack. Lily smiled knowingly at Gajeel. "I could stay here if it wasn't so dangerous" Gajeel glared at the smiling cat, "Yer walking a fine line there cat." Lily took off toward their little cottage in the forest, while Gajeel shopped around for some of the items on the list

Levy checked in at the guild hall to see Mira before the boys arrived. "Mira, did Erza ever take a job, I think we could still use a little bit of muscle not that I don't think Gajeel and Lily couldn't handle it." Mira leaned over the bar and patted the bluenette on the head. "You just don't want to be alone with a certain dragon slayer" She flashed an vile, almost snake like smile. "No no no it's not like that Mira" Levy's face betrayed her yet again as Mira just looked on sympathetically at the poor girl. "You'll be fine" She winked before heading over to Cana to refill her barrel of ale. "Might get in his pants this time little blue!" The drunkard hollered. "Shhhh Cana, damn it he'll hear you!" Levy was begging for her to keep her voice down, but there was no stopping that wench. The guild doors burst open right as Cana and her big mouth said something along the lines of piercings down his nether regions, Levy looked on horror stricken as the dragon slayer's face reddened. "Go get the girl I'll be outside" he immediately turned right back around and out the door. Lily flew over to collect Levy. "Come on Levy the train will be leaving soon" She heffed her bag on to her shoulders, following in Gajeel's footsteps right out the door leaving Lily in the guild. "Real nice Cana" he smirked "You know we could hear all of that outside the hall right?" She burst out laughing, "Worth it to see the look on his stupid iron face" He shook his head at the drunk. "One day he's going to kill you, but until then Im changing my bet to the end of this mission" He laid a small bag of jewel on the table and winked at the two mages at the bar. "Safe trip Lily" Mira called after him as he flew to catch up to his favorite humans.

It was a long train ride for group. Overnight in a cramped car because all the sleepers were booked. Gajeel groaned as the train took a curve, his face was pale, sweat dripping down his forehead, even his hair was drenched, he was curled in on himself facing away from his exceed and the shrimp, mumbling something about how humiliating this was. Lily looked up from his perch in Levy's lap with sad eyes, he never liked seeing his friend in so much pain. "Is there anything we can do for him?" Levy asked. " 'fraid not Levy" She sighed placing the exceed on the bench as she got up to go to the other side of the cart. "Gajeel?" He groaned, and curled in on himself even more. Levy sat down on the bench next to him, lifting his head to sit in her lap. He looked up at her surprised, "Just shut up and relax ya big baby" she teased, but he was in no condition to argue. With her magic she produced a small bucket of water, taking down her headband she dipped it in the cool liquid before placing it on his brow. The water seemed to increase her scent on the headband, her smell was covering him like a blanket, her soft humming and rhythmic rubbing of his scalp as she played with his hair was enough to put him out of his misery for the whole train ride.

They arrived at a village at the base of Mt. Hakobe, Gajeel practically leapt off the train and kissed the ground. Levy and Lily both laughed as they watched him bless the ground. "Alright, come on it will be late soon, we need to find sleeping arrangements or we will be camping much more than I hope to this trip." Levy impatiently tapped her foot. "Come on shrimp we just spent 16 hours on a train, and I didnt eat before we left Magnolia to spare you seein' me blow chunks, I'm starving" He whined, dragging his feet as he followed behind her sulking. "Ugh fine eat first, but if we don't find a room to sleep in tonight I'm blaming you" She huffed, looking around the shops as they walked down the dirt road in the center of town. Lily flew ahead looking for a place to eat, reporting back his findings. "There's a cafe a block ahead on the left that has outside seating arrangements" Gajeel patted the exceed on the head, "Good job Lily" Taking the lead he walked ahead, practically leaving Levy in his dust, she just rolled her eyes at the two as they bounded ahead. Dinner ended up being short yet fulfilling as they munched on sandwiches. "I'll get the tab, but you have to pay for the rooms" Levy tossed some jewel on the table as Gajeel fumbled with his money bag. "Oi Shrimp, I would have gotten both" Lily rolled his eyes at the two squabbling over the bill. "Fine, lets just go find a place to sleep" Levy ended the argument abruptly and walked towards an inn they had passed on the way to cafe.

Levy and Lily sat outside waiting for Gajeel to haggle a deal with the inn keep. He came out a few minutes looking like he just got on a train. "Sorry Shrimp" He looked down and kicked a pebble on the ground. "Sorry? for what exactly?" She shot up from her seat on the ground. "I could only get one room, and it only has one bed, it's all he had" Levy sighed holding her hand out for the key. He dug it out of his pocket handing it to her. Room 203 She picked up Lily who was already half asleep on the ground and made her way to the room, followed by the dragon slayer. Once her and Lily were inside she shut the door on Gajeel. "Oi, what the hell shorty?" He banged on the door. "I told you, this would happen if we didn't get a room, see ya in the morning" Levy laid Lily down on the king sized bed, before ducking into the bathroom to take a hot shower. Gajeel sat slumped against the door, listening to everything going on in the room. Once he heard the shower turn on he used his shadow magic to slip under the door, once inside an evil grin slipped across his face. "Shrimp wants to play dirty? lets play dirty." he chuckled gihee "Gajeel?" Lily stirred on the bed, “go back to sleep Lily we're in the hotel.” The small cat yawned, rolling back over onto the pillow, falling into a deep sleep. Gajeel walked over to where Levy left her dirty clothes, picking them up, laying them in a pile on the bed before going to her bag and taking out all of her other clothes and tossing them on the bed with her dirty ones. "lets see you shut the door on me now gihee" He took the clothes and slipped back into the shadows and under the door. It didn't take long for the shower to shut off, shortly after he could hear a string of unlady like curses before she stomped over to the door whipping it open. "Where the fuck did you put my clothes Gajeel?" He was all ready to gloat until the door flew open, the skimpy inn towel doing nothing to hide her cleavage nor much of her legs, he stood there like a deer in the lights of a lacrama. She waved her arms in front of him making him snap out of his daze, wiping the drool that managed to escape his slacked mouth before looking at her red face. She stood there tapping her foot, half embarrassed from the lack of clothing, half angry at the man for being so childish. "Let me in and I might let you have them back" She stood back from the door slinging her arm in a motion that told him to get his ass in the room, slamming the door behind him. "Clothes now Redfox" mavis why is she so hot? "Gihee fine here shrimp" he tossed all the clothes at her. She picked up a few articles before running to the bathroom to get dressed. "Don't think you're getting the bed with me and Lily after that stunt." She huffed, coming out of the bathroom wearing a small yellow tank top and a white pair of boy shorts that left next to nothing to his imagination. "Fine just get some sleep, gotta leave early in the morning, before it gets to hot."


	2. Chapter 2

Morning came much too soon it seamed. The first golden rays of the sun peeked through the window hitting Levy in the face. Rolling over she was met with another warm body next to her. She rolled her eyes behind her still closed lids before she peeled one open to find the dragon slayer laying next to her in the bed, Lily curled around his mess of black hair like a fuzzy little cat hat. She went to get out of bed but was surprised when a large heavy arm came crashing down around her mid section. "Gajeel, come on get up we have to go remember" He dragged her body closer to his and buried his face into her hair. "Five more minutes" he whispered in her ear. She didn't want to admit that it felt amazing laying in his arms but they still had to get some last minute supplies before heading in to the desert. "Gajeel come on we have to get breakfast before heading out" she tried to pry his arm off of her to no avail. "Lily, hey Lily wake up" The exceed yawned, stretching his body out, his small rump up in the air as he arched. "Levy? Time to go already?" He looked at her, confused by the site before him. "Yeah, could use a little help though" She cocked her head towards the snoozing beast next to her. "got ya, I'll leave you two alone and get breakfast" before Levy could even explain he flew off through the door. "Damn cat!" She rolled over to face the sleeping dragon slayer, his normally rough features were now relaxed, she took in all the little details of his sleeping face. They've shared rooms and tents before, hell they even fell asleep next to each other after training at the training grounds, but this was different, he was in the bed with her. She didn't mind as much as she put on that she would of been, after all she loved him. Her hand came up to brush a stray hair off his face. Her fingers trailed down his jaw and then his nose, she even traced the studs over his eye brows. A smile came across her face as he started to stir at her small touches. She was so involved with her musings that she didnt notice he opened his eyes. "I could get use to this" His voice was low and sounded soft, heavy with sleep. She jumped at his words, "G-Gajeel I-" he laughed and pulled her closer. "Its ok shrimp" she could feel his smile on her neck as he held her close. 

The day just seemed to get hotter the farther they ventured into the desert. They chose this path to keep their packs on the lighter side but as the sun beat down on them, they quickly realized how much better the mountains sounded. They weren't able to get a ride with a caravan, though Gajeel was thoroughly pleased with that then, not so much now. "Say Levy, maybe we should make camp and walk at night instead." Gajeel reasoned that it would be cooler at night, without risk of a sunburn. "That sounds good to me" she stopped and threw down her pack, wiping the sweat off her face with the bottom of her shirt. Gajeel set up the tent, Lily rationed out water in the canteens and Levy got to work on enchantments to keep their camp hidden from bandits. They took shelter in the tent until the sun started to set. "All right let's get a move on" Gajeel quickly broke down the tent, refilling all the canteens. Levy used her light pen to make a torch to light their way in the night. "Gajeel I can't see anything!" Gajeel didn't think his plan through very well, at this rate they would wind up lost. "Levy put the light out" She did as she was told, it took a good minute for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, his shadow slayer magic coming to play in the night. He reached out and grabbed her hand, she jumped at the contact. "Just me, hold on to my and Lily's hand, I can see just fine in the dark. Just if I say stop or anything listen ok?" She squeezed his hand tight. She had a fear of the dark, that she hasn't told anyone about, except Lucy. Even with Lily and Gajeel there she was freaking out a bit. It was a long night, walking in the dark with the two boys. Finally faint beams of sunlight started to lighten the sky, Levy was finally able to calm her nerves.

They traveled like this for 4 days before they got to the first desert village, there was a small inn, a few stores and a bath house. The two humans in the group eyed that bath house in anticipation, their skin was dried from the sun and caked with sand mixed with sweat, muscles ached and Levy could use a relaxing soak after four days of walking in her biggest fear. "You two go on ahead I'll secure us a room for the night." Lily waved them off as he flew down the main corridor of the small village. The two mages looked at each other with a huge grin on their faces, that grin was short lived when they walked in to find it was a co-ed bath house. Levy gulped, looking over at Gajeel. "I won't look shrimp" he smirked. Somehow that didn't convince her. "Look Ill get in first if you want" He offered. "No no no I'll go first, don't need you watching me get in" She huffed at him. "I've already seen you in a towel" he shrugged, causing her to blush as he dropped his towel and dived in to the warm water. Fucker I said I'd go first He came up for air throwing his long main of black back over his head. "Come on shorty, water feels great. Gihee" She dipped her toe in the water, it really did feel great. "well don't just sit there turn around" He did as he was asked and she quickly dropped her towel, diving into the water. When she came up for air she was mear inches from him. "Hiya" he smiled. "Idiot" she blushed and looked away from him, turning to rest against the side of the bath. She laid her head back on the hard surface, closing her eyes, letting the hot water refresh her. "Oi Levy?" She looked up to see him leaning over her face, a confused expression on his face. "Don't you see I'm trying to relax?" she raised an eyebrow at him, trying not to notice how close his body was to hers. "Yeah but I got a question." She sighed, sitting back up, "fine" she crossed her arms over her chest. "why are you afraid all night when were walking in the dark?" She sat there for a minute shocked. "How did you..." He cut her sentence off as he pointed to his nose. He could smell her fear! "I know it's stupid, but I've always been afraid of the dark, as far back as I can remember" "oh" he paused, "I thought it might have been that you didn't trust me or Lily" He looked down at his reflection in the water. "What? No, Gajeel I trust you and Lily with my life, it's just a fear that I've always had, ever since my parents..." she stopped her sentence there. She never talked about her parents, she use to think they were great until she learned the truth, by then they had been dead 10 years and the damage was already done

Lily came to get them, not long after that, breaking up the sad silence that crept over them. "Got us a room and a hot meal, come on you two." Levy grabbed her towel and exited the bath, lost in her own thoughts not noticing or caringing that Gajeel got to see her back side, not that he was paying much attention anyways. After she left the bath, Lily handed Gajeel his towel, "what happened while I was gone?" "I'm not sure, I asked her why she acted so scared at night and I guess it came back to something that happened in her childhood she'd rather not talk about." Lily nodded, he was often left in the same way as Gajeel was now when he asked about the dragon slayer's up bringing. All they knew about Levy before Fairy Tail was that she was an orphan like Gajeel, and that was it. They ate in silence, and when it was time for bed Gajeel laid out a mat on the floor to sleep on. He had just gotten comfortable when he heard small feet approach his makeshift bed. "Gajeel?" Levy whispered to the dragon slayer. "Go to bed shrimp we gotta walk all day tomorrow to make up time" She was silent for a moment, but didnt head back to bed. He opened his eyes to the darkness in the room, he could make out her face in the dark without a problem. She looked scared and conflicted. "What's wrong?" He sat up from the floor, without a word she grabbed his hand and pulled him up, he allowed her to lead him to the bed where she laid down and patted the bed next to her. "Shrimp?" He looked at her with a confused expression not that she could see much in the dark. "Just stay with me ok?" Her voice was shaking, he realized then that the darkness in the room was getting to her. "Alright" he crawled in next to her, wrapping his arms around her. It didn't take long for her breathing to even out and her heartbeat to return to normal. Lily padded his way over from his makeshift bed to hop on the bed next to the two mages, curling up into her stomach. Gajeel reached over to rub the exceed's head, listening to him purr before falling in to his own slumber.

Morning came for the exhausted mages, along with the sun came the overwhelming heat, they had to travel during the day time from here as they soon found out from the innkeeper. Apparently it was dune worm mating season and they would only come out at night, they were fearsome creatures during their season, but normally docile otherwise. The two mages and a battle form Lily put on their newly purchased sand gear before braving the hardest part of the desert, they were warned to stay with in the marked path and that there was an oasis half way through their path, but that it was frequented by rogue mages and bandits. With packs in hand the group headed out in to the searing heat. The wind would pick up, grains of heated sand cutting through their gear and skin like paper. Gajeel, could have used his scales to protect himself, but suffered along with his exceed and Levy, to conserve his magical power. After 10 long hours of walking in the blazing sun, the mages set up camp for the night. The journey for the next 4 days was hell, though they were thankful not to run into any bandits. The 5th day in the desert they would come upon the oasis marking their halfway checkpoint. "Almost there Levy" Gajeel called over his shoulder, the smaller mage had started lagging behind a few hours ago, the sun and heat starting to take a toll on her small body, where her clothing had became torn from wind damage, red splotches started to form, sun burned from being exposed. They arrived at the oasis with out a single issue, it looked like days since the last people visited the spring. There was a small hut they could take shelter in for the night, and Gajeel got busy setting up camp for the night. Lily collected some wood he found around the fig trees that surrounded the watering hole. Levy took the opportunity to take a quick bath and soothe the burns on her arms. "Food's done Levy" Lily flew over dropping a towel for her on a low branch. She got out of the water and dressed quickly, jogging over to the camp. "Good Im starving" Gajeel handed her a bowl, "I was thinking we could stay here for a day or two before heading out again" He gave her a once over nothing all the burns on her arms and legs. She nodded her reply with a mouth full of food. "Here" He tossed her a small tube. "Its for those burns" She looked down at her skin, "Thanks" He grunted approval, and started to clean up. "It'll be dark soon" Lily looked to the west, the sun fast quickly going down. "We should kill the fire so we don't attract any attention to us" He warned. Little did they know, they had been being watched for a while now.

"Boss, we got 3 at the spring" one of the look outs called. "Anything good?" The man peered through the spyglass again. "Not much, looks like they are traveling light, just passing through, but boss take a look at this" He handed a tall man with dark sun kissed skin and sand colored hair the spyglass. "Ooooo what do we have here? A rarity indeed, cant say I've seen that color before" He gave a hand signal to his men to pack up and get ready to move. "We attack at dawn" He ordered before making his way into a old beat up canvas tent. At day break the ring leader of the bandits and his four henchmen headed down a dune towards the oasis.

Gajeel stirred in his sleep all night. He was sharing a bed with Levy again, not that either of them cared. He just couldn't shake the feeling that they had been watched while at the oasis. His dragon senses seamed to by on high alert too, which Lily could tell he was on edge. His nose picked up the scent before his hearing could hear the footsteps. "Lily, Levy, people are approaching." Levy shot out of bed throwing on a shirt and her lightweight pants, ready for a battle. "stay in here, let me and Lily handle it" Gajeel demanded, but Levy was having none of it, "I can help Gajeel!" He glared at her, "Just fucking listen, we ain't got time to argue Levy." An arrow darted past his head, grazing Levy's arm. "we have five bandits incoming Gajeel" Lily called from outside the doorway. "Motherfuckers just messed with the wrong man's woman" He turned around, letting his scales cover his body, waiting for them to come in range of his Iron Dragon Roar. Lily ran ahead, attacking the men, 3 of them engaging the battle formed exceed. One guy got a good hit on Lily causing him to hit the ground. Gajeel sprung to action running to meet the other 2, one of them being the archer that shot at them. Levy quickly tied a spare headband around her arm to stop the bleeding before joining the fight. The leader of the bandits by passed Gajeel and went straight for Levy. She seen him slip past Gajeel, heading straight for her, using her solid script she traps him in a cage, not for long though as he kicked through it. "Gotcha now bitch" the man went to punch her right as Gajeel extended his iron arm, catching the boss of the group in the jaw with a loud crunch as his bones shattered. The three of them gathered up the bandits tying them together, before anchoring them to one of the fig trees by the water. "There, now you have food and water until someone comes along to free you" Lily dusted off his paws, walking over the where Gajeel was looking after Levy.

"Oi shrimp, I'm going to have to sew this up, its too deep" Levy winced at the pain while he cleaned up the area. "I guess we won't be able to stay here another night either?" He shook his head. " 'Fraid not, we will need to leave soon to make any head way before dark." Lily sat in Levy's lap hoping to help calm her down when Gajeel started to sew her arm up. "Ready?" He asked, making a small curved needle out of his iron. He could hear her gulp as she nodded, shutting her eyes and squeezing Lily. "Can't.....Breathe" Lily choked out. Gajeel patted his head, "Just a little longer buddy." He used his teeth to clip the string, ruffling Levy's blue locks. "All done shorty, ya did good" She released Lily who fell on the ground gasping for air. "Ah! sorry Lily!" she picked him up, only to have him fly out of her hands, leaving her to pout. "Don't be like that Lily, she didnt mean too" Gajeel scolded the exceed. "I know, we have to get moving though" The exceed was right, they finished packing their things, filed their water supply and headed out into the open wasteland again. "five more days of hell" Levy mumbled as the walked. "If we don't run n to more trouble" Lily noted. "Oi shut it cat, don't jynx us" Gajeel, being superstitious swatted at the cat. They had been walking for hours, it was about 4pm by the sun's position in the sky. "Gajeel? what is that?" Levy pointed off in the distance. Gajeel looked up to where she was pointing, squinting in the harsh light. "Shit sandstorm" he dropped his pack, taking out the canvas tent and setting it up with a quickness that left Levy and Lily watching in awe. He yanked the two of them right as the storm hit. He clutched them to his chest as the wind whipped around them. Sand started making its way in through the flaps, Gajeel pinned them closed with more of his iron before returning to the others. Lily was covering his ears shivering in fear. "Looks like sand storms scare him too" Levy yelled, trying to overcome the howling of the wind outside of the tent. Gajeel looked down at the small cat curled in Levy's lap. "What am I going to do with you two?" Levy looked at him puzzled. "Damn cat fraid of storms and a shrimp afraid of the dark" Levy looked down dejected, "Everyone has fears Gajeel" she whispered. Even with the howling wind he could hear her, he sighed. "try and get some sleep shrimp, looks like we're camping here tonight" He lifted her into his lap, with Lily in hers, it didn't take long for her exhaustion to claim her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning Smut ahead.

It took a whole week for them to cross the remainder of the desert, thanks to Lily's big mouth, as Gajeel so kindly put it, they were jinxed. After that initial sand storm, they were caught my 2 more, a flash flood they barely escaped and a dust devil that seemed to chase them across the remaining mile and a half of the wasteland they now called hell. "I vote we take the mountains home" Levy raised her hand as they walked out of the desert. "I second that" Lily raised a paw. "Yall dont gotta convince me, fuck this place" The shared a round of laughter. They were still three days out from the river village, but now instead of searing heat, blinding sun and biting winds, they had a flowing river, green fields over rolling hills and a gentle cool breeze. Levy dropped her pack next to the river, running along the bank. Gajeel looked at her as she ran through the tall grass, it only came up to his knees but on her it was almost level with her bum. Lily flew alongside her as she ran along, like a deer in a spring field, Gajeel couldn't help but smile watching his exceed partner and the woman he loved, but wouldn't admit it, playing like little kids. "Oi dont go too far, still gotta set up camp" He bellowed after them, turning to get to work on the tent, fire and dinner. Levy and Lily took to exploring near by, heeding his warning not to go too far. "Ah Lily this place is so beautiful, everything here is so free!" she twirled around before falling back in to the grass. "It is quite exhilarating." Lily agreed lying next to her in the grass. "Reminds me of Edolas" He closed his eyes. Levy looked up at the sky watching the puffy clouds roll by over head. Her thoughts wandering farther away as each cloud passed. Gajeel had set up the camp, waiting for the rest of the group to return. He sniffed the air, they weren't far, he could smell them at rest. "Stupid cat is asleep again, and Levy is probably watching the clouds, bunch of lazy asses" He huffed. Figuring they would be gone a while longer, he stripped to bathe in the river. They chose to camp in this spot for the night due to a crook in the river bank making a natural pool, perfect for a bath and easy to catch fish in. Easing down in the cold water, Gajeel took to washing all of the desert sand from his body and hair, wishing he brought his brush with him now that his hair was a tangled mess. "Fucking desert" he cursed.

Levy's thoughts drifted to her childhood, it wasn't especially pleasant. She had spent most of her earlier teen years trying to find out what happened to her parents after the Master brought her and the boys of team shadow gear to the guild. She was 10 when the he found her, abandoned in an orphanage, stating that he was the girl's grandfather, and that he just got word that she was still alive. He took her and her only two friends in, gave them a family. Levy was much older when she found out that her parents were a part of the guild before they took off with her one day never to return. Lily's purrs snapped her out her day dream. She looked over at the sleeping cat, patting his head gently. She picked him up and headed back to camp, the sun already starting to set. Back at camp Gajeel, in only a pair of shorts with a towel hanging over his shoulders, was busy preparing a feast. While in the pool washing he managed to spear a few fish wandering by. "Ah, beats having canned meat again" He mumbled while flipping the fillets on the fire. Levy walked in to camp holding the sleeping cat, stopping just short of the fire watching Gajeel. Water dripped down his muscular back, his hair laying plastered to his spine, soaked still from his dip in the water. Heat flushed her cheeks and desire stirred with in her. This trip with him and Lily was the longest they have been in contact with each other, it felt nice, almost domestic. Without missing a beat Gajeel, not bothering to turn around called out. "Oi ya just gonna stand there and check me out or come eat?" Her face going a few shades darker at his comment. "I-I wasn't checking you out!" She sat away from him on the other side of the fire, hoping the glow would hide her blushing cheeks. "Whatever ya wanna call it shrimp, cant fool me" He handed her a plate before walking over to nudge Lily with his boot. "Oi cat dinner" They ate in silence as the stars started to dot the sky.

"I'm going to turn in early" Lily, still sleepy from his nap, disappeared into the tent, leaving the two mages alone. "Gajeel you forgot your brush didn't you?" Levy decided to break the silence. He glared up at her from his now empty plate, "whats it to ya? You still haven't bathed and ya stink now get" He shooed her away, aggravated that she noticed his ragged looking locks, while hers were still as beautiful as ever. She gave him a small pout before grabbing her clothing and a towel and heading to the pool, "Come over in a bit and I'll get the knots out" she called behind her as she walked to the bank. With the stars out, reflecting on the water, it looked as if Levy was swimming in the sky, it took the dragon slayer's breath away as he watched her. She was crouched down, the water coming up just past her breasts, had it still been daylight he would have been able to see all of her under the water. She was busy washing her hair, being quite resourceful with her magic she made soap, and shampoo appear out of thin air. "Come on in" She called over to him before dipping under the water to wash out the soap from her locks. He stood there, WHAT? he practically screamed inside his head. "you coming or not?" She called, he didn't even notice when she came back up for air. He slipped off his shorts, leaving his boxers on and dived in the cold water. "Levy, you sure this is ok?" he asked nervously "you don't have no clothes on" She didn't say anything, swimming up behind him to grab him by the shoulders, and pulled him back towards the shore. She grabbed the shampoo and started lathering up his hair.

All thought and reason left him then as he sank back on to her chest, closing his eyes while she massaged his scalp. Levy smiled down at him as she watched his facial features relax. A rumble went through her body that she quickly realized was him purring. "You like that?" she whispered in his ear, her breath tickling his neck. "Mhmm" She giggled at his docile reaction. "Ok go wash out the soap and then Ill condition it" He lazily did as he was told, quickly laying back on to her chest for the next round. Goosebumps trailed down his body as she massaged the conditioner in harder than she did the shampoo. "You're going to put me in a coma you keep that up woman" He mused. She raked her nails against his scalp and tugged on his locks, she was surprised with a low growl like moan from him. It made her ache low in her stomach, the way her romance novels would make her feel during an especially saucey chapter. It excited her, she couldn't help but do it again. His moan even deeper than the last. "shrimp, you better stop yer teasing" His gruff voice snapping her out of her lustful fantasy. "Teasing? I'm not teasing Im just washing your hair" She tried to play it off as just getting her hands caught in a knot. He turned to face her, their bodies intimately close. "You...were...teasing" he poked her nose at the last emphasized word. His crimson eyes boring into her, filled with desire. "Gajeel" She whispered, they were nose to nose, his hand had found its way to her waist, the other was resting on the bank. She was boxed in, there was no escape this time. Her own body gave in as she screamed at herself inwardly. He pressed his lips against hers, they were chapped from the long trek through the desert but she didnt care, she melted in to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. His kiss was light at first, but as soon as she wrapped her arms around him though his kiss became much more passionate like he was waiting on a sign that it was ok. She nipped the bottom of his lip as he went to pull back, causing his grip on her side to tighten.

"I've wanted to do that for so long" she breathlessly confessed. His eyes widened, "Mhmm" she pulled away from his grasp ducking under the arm that was resting on the bank, swimming out to the middle of the small pool. Gajeel dived under the surface after her, washing out the conditioner she had rubbed through his hair, popping up behind her in the water to snatch her by the waist. "Gihee, looks like I caught me a shrimp for a late night snack" she giggled as he nipped and kissed her neck. He was rewarded with small moans that escaped her when he nipped at her ear, he could feel the goosebumps dance along her skin. "come on shrimp" he pulled away from her "lets get you out of this cold water" She whined when he pulled away and climbed out of the water. He stood on the bank holding her towel, and hiding his current excitement. "Just because we kissed don't mean you're going to get to see me naked mister." she wagged a finger at him. "fine" he gave her a small pout before dropping the towel on the bank and sulking off to change, choosing to go commando in his shorts til his boxers could dry. She sat down behind him at the fire and took to brushing out his hair, "ya dont gotta..." she cut him off with a tug on his mane. "I don't gotta... I want to" He blushed, her using his own words against him. They sat there in a comfortable silence for what seemed like hours. Levy let out a small yawn, wrapping her arms around him as she laid her head against his back. "time for bed shorty" he received no reply so he sat there staring into the fire for a bit, he noticed her breathing had evened out. Looking back over his shoulder he could see her mop of blue hair hanging over her closed eyes. Shifting just enough to reach his arms around her but not to disturb her from her sleep, he carried her off to the tent.

It took three days to get to River Village, three amazingly pleasant days. Lily had noticed something had changed between his two favorite mages. Stolen glances, giggles from both the bluenette and the dragon slayer, he even caught the normally dark man smiling from ear to ear. He noticed that they were having a lot more contact too, which was odd since the dragon slayer was quite particular when it came to personal space. That night Gajeel and Lily went to a local bar while Levy opted to stay in the hotel and read up on some of the languages she was going to be translating. He decided now was a perfect time to ask his companion what was going on. "Gajeel, did I miss something while snoozing the first night by the river?" Gajeel raised an eyebrow at the exceed, beer mug hiding a faint smirk on his face as he downed half the liquid in it. "Maybe, what's it to ya cat?" Lily smiled at the dragon slayer, no more words needed to be shared, Lily knew Levy finally made her move. "I kissed her, after she washed my hair" he paused, a incriminating smile lighting his face "naked" he added. Lily fell off the stool he was sitting on. "YOU made the first move?" Lily couldn't believe it. "Yep sure did" His prideful ass couldn't help but boast about it. "Well shit there goes half my jewel!" Lily climbed back on his stool, pouting. "You bet on us?" The dragon slayer was surprised, normally anytime he would place a bet with Cana he would get chewed out by the exceed. "Of course I did! the whole guild is betting on you two!" Lily shouted exasperatedly. Gajeel blushed, were they really that oblivious to each other? "Any earnings you get you better go halfsies cat, I am letting you stay in my house" Lily raked a paw across his face and shook his head. "Idiot"

 

Levy got to work on her job, making quick work of the translations. There was a couple in the village that desperately wanted a child of their own and Levy was basically translating an old folk lore remedy to cure their infertility. A shopping list of herbs, and magical items to help her become more willing to carry a child. Levy found herself thinking about her own children one day, shaking her head repeatedly throughout her translating when her mind started to wander. I wonder if he would have blue or black hair? "Stop that Levy!" Gajeel looked over at her questionably. "What?" She asked. "Whatcha stopping over there?" she shook her head, "nothing, my mind just keeps wandering away from me" He gave her an understanding nod, and she went back to work. Now this word goes here, oh and this one is an ingredient she scribbled her findings down. Now on to the incantation, this one is a little harder she scribbled a few more words down, her brows furrowing as she concentrated. Gajeel loved that look on her face, he stood from his seat and walked over to the bed she was laying on. Her orange dress, road up on her thighs, giving a small peek at the crimson underwear she was wearing. Her blue locks pulled back with her matching headband, and her glasses perched on her nose. She was so focused on her translations she didn't notice how close he had come until she felt his hand creep up her thigh. "Gajeel!" she screeched, rolling off her stomach and away from his hand. "What? you look so damn sexy there working, and flashing me yer panties" He pouted. "I'm almost done with the incarnation ok?" she looked at him pleadingly. "Fine he huffed." He had sent Lily away for a few nights so that he could have some time with her, but it looks like work was getting in the way. By the time she was finished it was late, Gajeel had fallen asleep two hours ago next to her on the bed. "Blasted work" she roughly gathered up her papers and stashed them away in the night stand before turning out the light.

The next day she met with the couple, handing them the supply list and incarnation, receiving her payment and then some. But before they could get back to the inn the mayor came up to them requesting an audience with them. "You see Levy, our town is plagued with this problem, more and more couples are having issues having families" Levy and Gajeel shared a glance between them. "As you can see there are only a handful of children in our village of 3000." The mayor looked out his office window lovingly at the town below. "What are we supposed to do about it" Gajeel crossed his arms, this was an uncomfortable subject for him. "here" he handed Levy a scroll "I'm not able to read or speak this language, but I was told it was a spell to help boost our fertility. My advisor said that we must have done something to anger Aveta, our river and fertility goddess" Levy internally rolled her eyes, she didn't much care for stories of gods that have yet to be proven real. "I'll see what I can do" Levy gave him a small bow before exiting the office.

"What's got you fuming shrimp?" Gajeel strolled up beside her as she half walked half ran to their room. "Ugh I hate these kind of request, they want you to read some ancient hullabaloo about gods and goddesses and think poof everything will be ok" She was fired up and man did she look hot! "It's probably something in their food or water" She tossed her hand wildly in the air as she rambled on pacing back and forth. Gajeel took the scroll from her, placing it down on the nightstand before lifting her up onto the bed. "Gajeel this isn't" she was cut off as his lips crashed down on to hers. She gave up, all the anger fading into nothingness as her body gave in to his. "I sent Lily away so we could have time to ourselves now shut the hell up and let me kiss you shorty" He kissed her again, this time more gentle but passionate. She reached over his broad shoulders and tugged on his mane, a growl rumbled through his body and down hers. She tugged on him again making him lose his balance and fall over her in the bed, catching himself with one arm while wrapping the other around her back. She lifted her legs up and around his waist, pulling his lower half towards hers. His kisses turned it to little bites as his lips trailed down her neck and across her shoulder. Her skin was covered in goosebumps and small moans escaped her every time he raked his teeth over her flesh. She tugged at his shirt, which he gladly removed for her, her fingers trailing the sculpted lines of his pectorals down to his abs, following the V shape of his waist to the button on his pants. She looked up at him biting her lower lip, his crimson eyes watching her every move, a hiss came from him as she hooked her index finger under the waistband of his pants, popping the button with ease. "Not uh shrimp, yer still fully dressed" he smirked, eyeing his prize. He gently lifted her dress off of her small frame, Levy had not been wearing a bra, instinctively covering her chest. Gajeel lowered his face down to her chest, nudging her arms out of the way, peppering her breast with kisses. Her nipples were hard, begging to be paid attention, and Gajeel obliged. Levy cried out when he greedily grabbed her right breast in one hand and engulfed the other in his mouth. He wasn't being particularly gentle with them, but that just caused Levy to become more aroused. He pushed her down fully on the bed, climbing on top of her, pressing himself against her core. "Gajeel" she panted. He stopped abusing her breasts and looked up at her, her eyes half lidded, filled with lust and anticipation. "what do you want Levy?" His voice was husky, it sent a shiver through her body. "I want you... all of you" she pulled him down into a kiss. Without breaking the kiss he kicked off his pants and boxers, ripping her panties from her waist. Her yelp swallowed by his tongue as he ravished her mouth. His left hand cupped her face, the other trailed down her body, finding her center. She moaned his name as he rubbed her swollen clit. Her folds were already slick, ready for him, he slipped a finger in to her center curving inward and up. Their kiss finally breaking as her back arched and she let out an animalistic moan. He latched on to her breast as he fingered her, her whole back nearly off the bed as she arched. He added another finger spreading her wider. He trailed kisses down stomach stopping just short of her mound, he looked up at her with a devilish grin, locking eyes with her before he gave her clit a rough lick. "Oh my fucking gods Gajeel" she screamed. He took that as a good sign and continued. Pumping his fingers and alternatively licking and sucking on her clit. Her walls clamped down on his fingers as she climaxed screaming his name to the heavens. 

It took her a minute to regain her breathing and vision, she was seeing stars. "fuck, Gajeel" her voice was horse from her passionate screams. "Were not done yet shrimp" He smirked moving to position himself on top of her. He moved to enter her, being stopped short by her hands on his chest. "Wait Gajeel" she blushed turning her head. "I know, its ok Ill be gentle" He dipped down to kiss her pasionately as he pushed himself into her center. A tear escaped her eye as he ripped through her barrier. "sorry baby" he whispered in to her ear, wiping the tear away from her eye. "i-its ok, I knew it was going to hurt" He waited for her to adjust to the initial sting before pushing the rest of his length into her. Setting a agonizingly slow rhythm, as to not cause her any more pain. The discomfort quickly turned to pleasure for her as she bucked under him matching his pace. "Mavis, Levy you feel so damn good" He kissed her neck. A moan encouraged him to move faster. "Harder" she panted under him "Fuck! Harder Gajeel" she clawed at his back as he ploughed into her harder. Their rhythms matching as bodies crashed together. "Levy I can hold out much longer" He panted into the skin on her neck. "Me either, harder. Please fuck me harder" she moaned. "As you wish" He grinded. Pulling all the way out, only to slam back into her with more force. Leaning back on his heals he brought her to his chest. Legs still wrapped around his waist as he slammed her down onto his throbbing member. The new position intensified their pleasure, Levy screaming out as her orgasm rocked her body. Her insides clamping down on his cock. Gajeel came right behind her, biting down on her shoulder as he emptied himself inside of her.

They laid next to each other on the bed panting in euphoria when a knock on the door killed their high. “Fuck” Levy cursed as she threw the covers up over her body. “Mr. Redfox?” A man’s voice came from behind the door. Gajeel threw on his boxers and went to the door, slinging it open. “What do ya want?” The innkeeper looked at him fearfully. “S-sorry to bother you Mr. Redfox, I had a few complaints of screaming and just wanted to make sure everything was ok” Gajeel looked back over his shoulder at Levy who was sitting up in bed, sheets wrapped around her naked frame, her face was bright red. “Gihee, ya everything is fine, just having a bit of fun” “Ah very good sir, just try to keep it a little quieter please” with that the innkeeper walked away. Gajeel closed the door behind him, walking back over to the bed. “Yer a loud one Shrimp” He smiled devilishly at her. Swatting at him with the pillow she moved to get off the bed. “You’re one talk mister” she walked in to the bathroom, turning on the shower. “Oi what do you think yer doing?” Gajeel appeared in the doorway of the small hotel bathroom. “What does it look like? I’m taking a shower dummy” she dropped the sheet on the tile floor and stepped in the warm water. “Who said I was done with you yet?” Gajeel dropped his boxers, climbing in the shower with her. “Gajeel there is no way I can go again” she looked down at his member, standing at attention. He pouted down at her, doing his best at making puppy dog eyes. She gripped his shaft in her hands, giving it a tight squeeze. His moan echoed through the small room. Levy bent down taking his head in to her mouth, swirling her tongue around the tip. He threw his head back in ecstasy, “god damn Levy” She hummed happily at his words. She bobbed along his shaft, using her hand to rub along the remainder of it. He grabbed her head, trying hard not to push her down too hard, but it was feeling so good. He thrust into her warm mouth, clenching his teeth as he edged closer to his undoing. “Fuck Levy I can't hold on much longer” She steadied herself, placing a hand on his thigh as he assaulted her mouth with his dick. She used her free hand to caress and pinch at his sack, that did the trick as he unloaded into her mouth. There was so much she started to sputter and choke. “Shit, sorry Shrimp” Gajeel blushed looking down on her. She wiped the rest of his cum off of her chin, standing up to smile at him. “Yer so amazing” He kissed her forehead. “Gihee” she smirked, “Can I please shower now?” He sheepishly nodded, grabbing the soapy washcloth from her hand, washing her body, as he kissed along her neck. 

Lily had explored most of the river village by the end of his exile. “Those two better of gotten together, this place is so boring” He flew along the main road of the town, looking for something to do. After he ate some lunch at one of the cafes, he headed back to the inn. He didn't hear any noise coming from the room, so he slowly popped his head in. The shower was running, he took that as safe and padded his way over to the small couch against the wall, curling up and taking a much needed nap. The couple came from the bathroom to find Lily purring quietly “good thing we finished when we did” Levy giggled. They threw on some clean clothes. Levy got to work on the old scroll the major asked her to translate.


	4. Chapter 4

It had taken two full days for her to translate the old scroll to Fioran. Gajeel and Lily took that time to do some training, bringing Levy food and making her take breaks after her long hours of staring down at books and paper. They met with the mayor the next morning. “Here is the spell written out in Fioran. I do apologize though my kind of magic won't help in casting this spell you will have to find another kind of mage.” The mayor sighed heavily at her apology. “I understand, I greatly appreciate all the help you so kindly offered.” The short old man bowed low to Levy and her companions. “Sir, there is one thing I would like to try before I leave.” Gajeel cleared his throat in disagreement. “I want to try a purity spell, this fertility crisis you are having may very well be something in the environment” Gajeel rolled his eyes, Levy elbowed him in the ribs. “If I can help these people, Gajeel, I want to try” She whispered so that only he could hear her. “Ah yes, please will you cast your spell, even if it doesn't work it's worth a shot, thank you Levy!” The man lead the group up to the balcony of his estate. “will this be a sufficient place to cast?” Levy nodded taking out her light pen. “Solid Script Purify” The town glowed as her magic fell over every house, field and water source. “If it is environmental, I'm not sure how long my magic will be in effect, but its a place to start. Good luck.” The mayor gave Levy a huge stachel of jewel that she tried to deny but Gajeel wouldn’t have any of it. 

They spent the rest of their day preparing to trek the Mysterious Canyon, and the mountain pass back home. Levy was able to resell her desert clothing at a local thrift shop, and buy some hiking boots, jungle pants that hung loose around her legs to protect her from bugs, snakes and thorns. The shop owner suggested she go with tank tops for her upper layers until she got to a mountain village. Gajeel only needed to buy new boots and a few pairs of pants, opting to go shirtless most of the way. They spent the last night at the inn, and in the morning headed out.

“I don't see why I couldn't buy any kiwis Gajeel, you know they are my favorite” Lily whined as the river village slipped from his view. “Because they cost too much here Lily, we need to save our jewel so we can get winter clothing once we reach the mountains” Gajeel reasoned with the exceed, who just pouted. Levy picked him up rubbing his ears, “Poor guy, Gajeel couldn't spare just enough jewel for one kiwi?” Gajeel glared back at her. “Don't you dare coddle him squirt” He turned back around, she stuck her tongue out at the back of his head. “I can hear ya sticking her tongue out” She giggled. “Here Lily, Solid Script Kiwi” a small fuzzy green fruit dropped out of thin air in to the exceeds paws. Gajeel shook his head, displeased at her giving in to his whining. “Is this how it’s going to be when we have brats?” Levy stopped in her tracks, Lily paused his eating mid kiwi. “Um...kids?” Lily looked at his companion bewildered. “Ah, forget it” Gajeel kept walking, a stunned Levy having to run to catch up. 

The Mysterious Canyon, really wasn't all that mysterious. There were a few odd looking beasts that made for a great dinner, and some interesting fruits that they found made the hallucinate, to Lily’s enjoyment. He had opted not to try them, instead, requested another kiwi from Levy, so he got to watch the two mages act crazy all night. The third day in the canyon they ended up in a swamp. Lily flew over head as the other two were left to brave the grimey, foul smelling water. Gajeel was forced into his scales at one point by a lizard like animal, that was the size of a small dragon, who wanted nothing more than to eat them for a snack. Levy, despite being tired, covered in mud from the waist down and smelled like a dumpster, was glad they took this path home. Not many mages have traveled this part of the country so the information she gathered would be great for future job requests. They finally made it to a small village on the other side of the swamp, looking like monsters. The village people were not keen on getting visitors, the more Levy thought about it the more the villager’s reactions made sense, they were almost completely cut off from the rest of country. The mountain passes being much too dangerous and the swamp to the west of them cut them off from the village at the river. 

They decided to pass through and not bother the small settlement. Levy was really hoping for a bath. It took two more days before they reached a town at the base of the mountain pass. The air was already becoming thinner and the temperature was steadily dropping, Levy wished she had gotten one long sleeve shirt while shopping. Gajeel could hear her behind him shivering, stopping, he dropped his bag to the ground, rummaging through it. “Gajeel why are we..oof” Gajeel tossed a black long sleeve shirt over to the shivering mage. “Put it on, yer distracting me with all yer shivering” Levy threw it on over her head letting it fall down to her mid thighs. “Come on shrimp, I’d like to make it to the town before nightfall.” They could see the town up ahead, but it was still a long hike, uphill on rocky terrain. It was about dark when they got there, the last amber rays of the day sinking below the horizon. They found a small hotel to spend the night, which Levy quickly ran into their room, and locking herself away in the bathroom for a long overdue soak in the tub. Gajeel spent a little extra jewel to get a bigger room, which equaled a bigger bathtub. Gajeel and Lily dropped their packs on floor, “I’m going to take a nap, all that flying drained my magic” Lily curled up on the couch and fell fast asleep. Gajeel walked over to the bathroom, “Oi Shrimp you gonna hog the tub to yer self?” he received no answer so he picked the lock on the door. Levy was asleep soaking in the steaming bath. He undressed and climbed in behind her. “Gajeel?” She said sleepily. “ ‘k shrimp go back to sleep” she laid her head on his chest and drifted back to sleep as he gently washed her body. 

After much needed baths, the two mages left the sleeping exceed in the room while they explored the town. Shops lined the road they were on, a clothing shop that they would be going into tomorrow had just closed its doors for the night. “damn I was hoping to buy something warm to sleep in tonight” Levy pouted, Gajeel pulled her in close, “that's what you have me for” she huffed at his comment. Like we will be doing any of THAT while Lily is in the room. They walked a little farther down the road to an warm, inviting restaurant. “this is rather a romantic looking place” Levy walked in, Gajeel following after. They sat down and ordered dinner. “So Gajeel, now that Lily isn't here, what did you mean about us having kids?” Gajeel choked on his beer, sputtering as he tried to regain his tough guy persona. “this isn't the time for that kind of talk Shrimp” he frowned at her, taking a bite of his meal. “When is the time? I mean you kinda just sprang that on us out of nowhere” He put his fork down, and crossed his arms. “Look ok, I just figured you would want a few blue haired brats running around. I don't even like kids” He pouted. “Now can we drop it before I lose my appetite?” They ate the rest of their meal in silence, and walked back to the hotel without a word to each other. Lily was up when they returned. “What’s wrong with you two?” He asked when they came in, Gajeel had a more than normal frown on his face, his eyes told Lily enough not to bother him. Levy wouldn't even look up at him, she just went right to bed without saying another word.

Morning came and it was time to make the long trip through the mountains. They had bought some winter attire at the shop next door and some food supplies before heading out. Gajeel leading the way as usual, Lily following above for a while, and Levy bringing up the rear. It wasn't that it was overly hard on her to climb the trail, nor her small statue keeping her behind the others, she was lost in thought. She had never seriously thought about kids much before last night, she didn't dislike children but to have her own? Would she even be a good mother? After the childhood she had she couldnt imagine being particularly good at it. “Keep up shorty” Gajeel called over his shoulder as they walked higher up the path. The town was starting to fade from view the higher they climbed, it looked beautiful from up on the mountain. Gajeel noticed how quiet she was being that morning, figuring she was mad at him from last night, so he kept to himself as much as he could. Lily didn't much care for the silence, flying down to walk by Levy. “Levy, you doing alright? Do we need to take a break?” She just shook her head, her eyes were unfocused, staring at the ground ahead. He didn't like the state of this at all. Night fell quickly that day. Levy pushed on to keep up with Gajeel as he walked all day, she didn't realize how tired she was until they set up camp for the night. She went right to bed as soon as the tent was up. 

“Gajeel, what happened last night?” Lily had enough of the situation. “Nothing stupid cat stay outta it” Gajeel growled at him, but Lily pressed the issue. “Look, I don't like the way she’s acting and I want to know why. This isn't like her and you know it” He pointed towards the tent. “She walked all day without even one word to us Gajeel, not even a single break. She wasn't even looking where she was going most the day. Levy is usually focused on what’s in front of her and today it was like she was in a different world what did you do to her” Lily was getting pissed and that set Gajeel off. He stood up growling at the exceed like he was about attack. Lily switched to his battle form ready for an assault, it wouldn't be the first time. He learned early on that this was the best way to get the stubborn man to talk. The first punch came, which was perfectly blocked by Lily. “I don't know what I did” another hit, dodged. “she asked about why I mentioned kids” A kick came flying out at Lily who countered and returned a punch that Gajeel blocked. “I dont even like fucking kids” A double assault of fists that were countered. “They're loud, annoying brats that want everything” Lily landed a punch to his gut. “I just told her I figured she would want kids” He landed a punch against Lily’s jaw. “And if she dont?” It was Lily’s turn to attack, he rounded with a kick, blocked by metal arms. “Gajeel did you ever think about her childhood, it wasn't much different than yours.” Another round of fists fly. “She was abandoned too she might not want kids either” Gajeel hated having his past brought up, he couldn't relive the memories of Metallican leaving him. He punched Lily causing him to hit a tree, ending the fight. They both sat back down at the fire, breathless. “what do you know about her past? “ Gajeel was curious, he never asked her. “Look all I know is that she was picked up with Jet and Droy at an orphanage by Makarov same as you.” Gajeel fell silent. Lily had enough for one day padding over to the tent to turn in for the night. Gajeel stayed out by the fire until morning.

Levy didn't have a restful sleep. She dreamt of her past, memories she had long buried. She was six when her parents died, she couldn't remember much from then. She had a pretty easy life in Magnolia until one day her parents and a four year old Levy left on what was to be an easy job in Clover. Two years went by while they were gone, something changed while on the job that she didn't understand. Her normally loving parents began to beat her, and she was sent undercover to get information from places that a child shouldn’t have been seen in. Her parents were often found in a guild building that she didn't like, the people there often kicked her or spilled ale on her. The once happy child become withdrawn and often cried herself to sleep. One day there was a job that went wrong, a train derailed, she was the only survivor. The guild master dumped her off in an orphanage shortly after, calling her a worthless rat. The other children there were particularly nasty to her. Her hair color was rare and most the children there had never seen another kid with such an oddity. Her small size was also cause for her to be picking on her. The adults were no better, more often than not they would kick her, and refuse to feed her stating that she would never be adopted out and it was a waste of food to feed a useless child. It wasn't until 2 years later when Jet and Droy were dropped off together at the age of 8 that life looked a little brighter. They protected her from the other kids, often getting beat instead of her. They would steal extra food at dinner and risked getting lashed if they were caught, just to make sure Levy had enough food. Master Makarov came to get her 2 years after Jet and Droy arrived. He claimed he was her grandfather and that he just got word about the train wreck that claimed her mother, father and unborn brother. She had begged the master to take her only friends with her, and life started to look up. Later finding out that her parents abandoned the guild to join a dark guild. She woke up that morning in a cold sweat, shaking. Gajeel was at the entrance of the tent, looking panicked. “You ok shrimp, you were screaming” She looked around the tent, realizing it was just a bad dream. “Yeah, bad dream sorry” she got up and walked outside, it was barely light outside. “Look Levy I'm sorry if I said something that made you upset” Gajeel rubbed the back of his neck, he felt bad, not sure exactly why. “Ah it's ok Gajeel it wasn't really anything you did.” she sat down at the renewed fire. “It just made me think about my childhood”

Gajeel left the conversation alone for a bit. Lily had flown off to refill their water canteens earlier, and was now on his way back, hoping that the two mages could get past whatever it was bothering them. After a quick breakfast the group packed up camp and headed back up the mountain. “So Levy, what was yer childhood like?” Gajeel was curious after what Lily had said and their somewhat of a talk that morning. “You really want to know? It wasn't exactly pleasant” Gajeel nodded “couldn't be as bad as mine” He thought that would lighten things up but it didn't. “Well I had good parents until they were not good anymore, I was used, beaten and then dumped in an orphanage after they died along with a brother I never got to meet” She said it like it was nothing to her, the pain of those years long gone, she smiled up at him as they walked. “I was in the orphanage for four years from age six to ten. I was beaten and starved daily until I was eight when Jet and Droy showed up there.” She paused remembering her old friends, “So you’ve know those two that long?” “Yep, if it wasn't for them stealing food for me and taken an occasional beating from the other kids I would have been dead long before Master Makarov came for me” Gajeel looked at her wide eyed and a little heartbroken that she had to endure such a cruel childhood. “Not much different than mine after all” He said sadly. “Yer a lot tougher than you look Shrimp, to go through all that, then what I did…” his voice trailed off for a minute, “But here you are still smiling” He gave her a toothy smile, ginuwine and happy, it made her heart skip a beat. Lily enjoyed seeing the two mages smiling at each other, though the story she just told made his heart ache as much as Gajeel’s.

“So you know mine, how about yours then?” Levy caught the dragon slayer off guard by the question, causing him to trip. “Thought Levy was the clumsy one Gajeel” Lily teased from above. “Shut up stupid cat” He shook his fist up at the flying exceed. “Um...I don't talk much about it shrimp, not even Lily knows all of it.” He said softly, she placed a hand on his forearm. “You don't have to” He shook his head, “I want to though, i-it's just hard. Painful.” Levy nodded without another word. “I don't remember much before my dragon found me, I should since I was about seven at the time. I remember where I lived catching fire, more like an explosion tearing the village apart” His eyes glossed over as he remembered. “I was thrown from where I was standing, I had just gotten back from playing in the woods when everything I knew went up in smoke, I just watched it burn. No one lived.” Levy intertwined her fingers with his as they walked. “About a week after Metallican found me, his training was hard, lots of beatings. I loved that bastard though, he saved me after all. I had been in the woods a week, starving and still had burns on parts of my body from the explosion, after all.” She thought about the scars that decorated his body making a note to look closer later for burn scars. “After he left I was back at wandering the forest, I was out there two weeks before some hunters found me. They beat me and used me as bait for their big game, but they fed me so I guess it wasn't so bad. They were killed by a bear a few weeks later. I was in an orphanage for a while too but ran away after they whipped me every day for a week and joined Phantom not long after that”

Levy let the tears fall from her eyes when he finished his story, he never had love in his childhood after his dragon left him, unlike herself who had all of Fairy Tail. Almost as if their stories were backwards. She looked up to find he had a few tears too, reaching up she wiped them away. He gave her a half hearted smile, and pulled her in. “You and Lily make up for all the bad that has happened to me” Lily flew down and perched himself on the dragonslayer’s shoulder. “alright enough with the sappy shit we have a long way to go so let's move ou…” Gajeel’s sentence was cut short by a loud explosion. The three of them turned and saw smoke and fire billowing up to the heavens from the direction the town was in. “THE TOWN” Levy gasp as Lily took off flying towards the village they just came from. “Come on shrimp they might need our help” Gajeel and Levy ran down the mountain, what took them two days to climb took them mear minutes to run down. Levy using her magic to make a paraglider while Gajeel ran in front slicing trees down as he went. They were not prepared for what they saw next.


	5. Chapter 5

The town laid in ruins, every building was burned to the ground. The heat from the fire was intense, worse that the fires Natsu would occasionally start. Gajeel yelled out to anyone who could hear him, but his nose could already tell there would be no survivors as the smell of burning flesh, mixed in with wood and smoke filled his nose. Levy got to work putting out the fire using her solid script magic to make water until her magic reserves ran out. One building was still smoldering but the fire was out, the village was nothing more than ash and a few wooden beams from houses and shops. Levy collapsed on the ground in tears. Gajeel was on the other end of the village, he could clearly hear her sobs from where hes was. “Go take care of her Lily, Im going to look around, maybe someone survived” Lily took off to tend to Levy. Gajeel stood there, surveying the damage, flashbacks to his childhood came crashing down on him, dropping to his knees, he could help the roar that sprang from his chest. Levy was crying in the now bigger formed Lily’s arms, when they heard his roar. Both sprang up and ran to where they found him, on his knees, punching the ground. “Gajeel, come on it's over, there’s nothing we could of done” Lily helped the man up from the ground. Levy wrapped her arms around him as they started to walk back towards the mountain, in silence. “WAIT! do you hear that?” Gajeel’s face brightened. Levy went to talk but he silenced her. His dragon slayer hearing picked up a whimper in the debris of a collapsed building. “Lily help me move this” Lily and Gajeel lifted pillar after pillar off of a pile that was once a house. “The fuck?” Lily gasps as Gajeel bent down to pick something up. Levy couldn't see over the pile or the back of the large man. He stood up, still facing away from her, she could see tiny feet hanging over his arm. “Mavis!” she gasps, he turned around revealing a small boy, no more than two years old.

He was tiny, his hair was the same black as Gajeel’s. His small limbs were covered in cuts and bruises, but somehow escaped having any burns. He was whimpering, but thankfully he was unconscious, the young boy didn’t need to see the state of the world around him. Gajeel carried him out of the town with Lily and Levy following behind, neither saying a word as they watched the Iron Dragon Slayer tenderly care for the tiny human in his arms. They got about half way up the mountain pass they came from just hours before, when they finally stopped. Lily took to making the camp. “What are we going to do with him Gajeel” Levy whispered over his shoulder, as he sat, boy still cradled in his arms. He shook his head, looking down at the boy. “I-I don't know” Levy moved to crouch down in front of Gajeel. “Let me take him and clean him up” He looked up at her bewildered. She smiled and nodded at him. He reluctantly let her take the small child from him, and moved to the tent. “Bring the first aid kit and some fresh water please” She called over her shoulder. Gajeel did what was asked, and brought her one of his shirts and a pair of boxers. “I don't know if you can alter these but he can't be running around looking like that.” he said pointing to the small naked body lying on the sleeping bags. “Ill figure something out.” she cleaned the boys cuts, wrapping the worst ones in bandages. He had a gash on his leg that would take some time to heal. She thought about having Gajeel sew it up but thought better of it for the moment. The gash on his head wasn't as deep as the one on his leg but I was most likely cause for his unconscious state. While the boy slept, Gajeel sat inside the tent, watching Levy alter his clothing for the boy. Lily was busy outside making food for them, and preparing for the next day of the hike. The night was uneventful for them, as the boy slept, only tossing and turning a few times. “Tomorrow we head towards home, we will figure out what to do with him along the way.” Gajeel put it blatantly before turning over and going to sleep.

The next morning the boy still had not woken up. They broke camp and got ready to hike. Gajeel offered to carry the boy but Levy said it would probably be better for her to carry the small child incase he woke up. Stating that waking up to a scowling man of metal was probably going to scare the poor kid. He couldn't argue with that, he took her bag for her as she carried him. Gajeel insisted that he follow behind her and Lily lead the way incase she lost her footing and he needed to catch them, plus he would have a great view of her ass, one view that he had greatly missed the last few days as she was busy following him. Mid day they stopped to give Levy a break, “I said I’d carry the boy” Gajeel said grumpily. “Really Gajeel, it’s not a problem he hardly weighs twenty pounds” She laid the child down in the shade, the weather was cooler but the sun could easily burn his fragile skin. They sat and rested up, taking their time to eat and replenish their energy. “It would be nice though if there was a way to carry him on my back.” Gajeel dumped her pack out on the ground. “Gajeel!” He looked up at her confused. “What you said you wanted something to carry him in” She glared at him, hands on her hips. “A backpack is not what I had in mind Gajeel” “It’ll do.” He rolled his eyes at her, turning his hand into a blade and cutting holes for the child’s legs to go through. “Come on that was my favorite bag!” He gave her a really? type look “I'll buy ya a new one” Lily smiled at his companions, they have become the source of great entertainment for the exceed. Gajeel packed the items he dumped from her bag between his and Lily’s packs. Levy checked on the boy, he was starting to wake up. “Gajeel, I think he’s coming around!” She said excitedly. Slowly the young boy opened his eyes, they were a lovely shade of brown, almost like Levy’s but had more of a red tint to them. He looked up at Levy confused, then to Gajeel and Lily. His eyes slowly filled with tears.

“It’s ok its ok” Levy cuddled the crying child. “I know it's scary, but we’re here to help” The tot looked up at Levy, his amber colored eyes pleading with her. “Mama?” The boy asked. “I-I'm sorry, your village is gone” Levy broke, tears streaming down her face as she told the child about his mom and dad being gone, not sure if he could truly understand what she was telling him. The boy hugged Levy tightly, still sobbing in to her chest. Gajeel’s heart pained seeing her cry and for the boy. He knew that kind of pain all too well. “Here” he handed Levy a bowl “Try to get him to eat and drink or he’ll be dehydrated before long.” After having him eat they started to hike again. The boy wanting nothing more than to hug Levy the whole time, which she allowed him to do. “So have y'all thought about what to do with him?” Lily questioned as he walked ahead. “No, not really” Levy answered, Gajeel spoke up from the back, “We could leave him with an orphanage in the next town, but we still have to make it through the mountains first.” If he survives he thought to himself. “I don't want to do that Gajeel, you and I both know how they can be, and he's just a baby!” Gajeel hated to admit it but she was completely right. “We could take him to Fairy Tail, Master would know what to do with him” Levy said, at least there he would be loved and taken care of. Lily spoke up then “Ya’ll could just keep him” that stopped both mages in their tracks, Lily turned noticing they had stopped following him, “What?” Gajeel’s eyes darted from Lily to Levy back to Lily again. “He’s not a dog Lily, we can't just keep him” she scolded the exceed who just shrugged and kept walking. A few hours had passed and the boy was finally asleep, Levy stopped for a minute to place him in the makeshift carrier Gajeel had formed from her bag. He helped her place it on her back, tightening the straps so his weight wasn't going to hurt her back. “He’s a cute little guy though” Gajeel whispered to her, while he pushed ebony locks out of the child’s face. “Kinda looks like me gihee” She giggled at the thought, he did resemble the dragon slayer. “I wonder if he has any magic” Levy questioned. “That would be pretty cool, I could teach the brat my magic” Gajeel boasted. “Like we need another one of you running around the guild hall” Lily laughed as they started heading out again. “Oh god can you imagine, a little Iron dragon slayer, and it's only a matter of time before Lucy and Natsu end up with a kid” Levy mused. “The guild hall is doomed” Lily tossed his paws in the air comically. From the back of the group Gajeel bellowed out a big belly laugh that surprised both Lily and Levy. “That fire brain don't know the first thing about girls, it'll be awhile Shrimp” Levy just laughed.

It took them two weeks to traverse the mountains, ‘the boy’ as Gajeel liked to call him much to Levy’s displeasure, didn’t talk much, but he understood quite a bit for being so young. He warmed up to Lily a few days in to their trip, he especially liked it when the exceed would tell him stories. He would sit at the campfire, eyes wide in amazement as Lily told him stories from Edolas, until he would fall asleep. He often liked to walk the easier paths with Gajeel, holding his index finger in a tiny hand. Gajeel tried to push him away at first but finally gave in after the hundredth time. He spent most his time with Levy though, becoming quite attached to her. It took almost a week for him to stop asking for his mama and papa. They could see a town in the distance as they cleared the last mountain on the pass, “So should we still take him to the guild or check there to see if maybe they have a place for him?” Lily asked. Levy looked over at Gajeel and then down at the tot holding both of their hands, “Gajeel, I don't think I can let him go” she whispered to him, tears started to form in her eyes. He picked the boy up and placed him on his shoulders, pulling Levy close he kissed her gently. “Me neither” He smiled. Truth be told, the instant Gajeel found the boy he knew there was no way he was going to let someone take him away, he didn't want the kid to suffer like him nor Levy. “Einar” she said, walking along side Gajeel, hand in hand. “eh?” He looked down at her. “We should name him Einar, it means lone warrior” She smiled. “Einar huh, I like it, how about you boy?” The small boy on his shoulders smiled. “Einar it is then.” Lily flew into Levy’s arms, she hugged him tight. “so do you approve of your nephew’s name?” Lily purred his approval. “So is he a Redfox or a Mcgarden then?” both mages answered with smiles “Redfox”

After a little over a month, the finally returned to the town at the base of Mt. Hakobe. Gajeel took the group back to the inn they slept at that first night. “Look man I’ll give you double what the room is worth but I'm going to need it to have two full beds and a couch k?” He haggled with the inn keep, not making any progress until Levy sent Einar in to him. “Papa?” The innkeeper looked down at the small boy and made the deal with Gajeel. Once in the room Levy sent the men to get food while she cleaned up the child. It had been weeks since he had a proper bath, he giggled when she filled the tub up with bubbles for him. Gajeel had come back to the room just as she was getting him out of the tub. “Gajeel Ill need to get him some decent clothing, there's no way im putting these back on him.” she held up the clothing she had altered for him. Gajeel nodded in agreement. Take a quick shower and I'll stay here with him while you get him some clothes, Lily should be back shortly with the food. “Where did you go then? You were supposed to go with him.” She stood there hip cocked out with hands on her sides. “I had to take care of something, don't worry about it. We’ll be fine right buddy?” He ruffled the small boy’s black locks. “Pick me and him up some bandanas while yer out, or we’re gonna have to cut his hair, can't see with it in his eyes” Gajeel winked at the bluenette. She walked the shops after her much needed shower, peeking in to the windows as she went. “I don't even know where to start, its not like I’ve ever bought clothing for a kid before.” She walked in to a small shop, looking at some of the options. They had cute button ups, and slacks but she was looking for something more practical. The next shop had just what she was looking for, grabbing a few things and a toy before paying and heading back. “We will need to go back tomorrow for shoes but I think these will fit him” she laid out some of the clothes on the spare bed. Gajeel brought Einar over, “alright squirt, whatcha wanna wear” the boy pointed to a pair of khaki cargo pants and an olive green tank top. “that’s my boy” Gajeel beamed up at Levy. She helped him pull on his new clothes, they were a perfect fit. Grabbing a red bandana and tying his hair up out of his face. Gajeel smiled when Levy tossed over a matching one, that he tied around his forehead. “Look son we match” He held Einar up to look in the mirror. “Now I got you a little something for being such a good boy while we walked through the mountains” She pulled out a little stuffed dragon from behind her back. Lily chuckled when the tot jumped up and down on the bed clapping his hands as she handed it to him. “Alright let's eat I’m starving” Lily padded over with the food.

“Do we really have ta take the train?” Gajeel whined as they walked up to the station. “Yes Gajeel it's the fastest way home.” Einar looked confused at his new guardians. “Papa?” Lily patted the tot on the head, “Its ok Einar, he just doesn't like transportation” They boarded the train for the long trip home. As soon as the train took off Gajeel curled up in a ball with his head in Levy’s lap. They were lucky enough to get a sleeper car and it didn't take Einar long to fall asleep in a hammock, with Lily curled up next to him. “it’ll be ok Gajeel, soon we will be home.” he groaned in protest as the train took a sharp turn, she raked her fingers through his hair. “Gajeel do think everyone will be ok with us keeping Einar or do you think they will try to take him away?” It took all of Gajeel’s will power to sit up and look Levy in the eye. “Over my dead body, no one will take our son” he flopped back down in her lap, nuzzling her stomach. “You smell different Lev” he mumbled into her skin. “Go to sleep ya big dummy” she went back to playing with his hair, he was asleep in minutes. Levy looked out the window as the scenery flew by, happy to finally be heading home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I chose to name the kid Einar, which means Lone Warrior. I think its quite fitting for the boy. Let's see how the guild handles the news...


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another super short chapter, sorry! coming to the end the story though, lots of fluffy moments.

Back at the guild everyone was as noisy as ever. Natsu and Gray were throwing fists over Natsu destroying structures again on a mission, Lucy was sitting at the table whining about her rent money, Erza and Wendy had just gotten back from their mission, successful, celebrating with cake until Gray flew across the room nocking both slices onto the floor. Cana called out bets for who would get knocked out first by Erza and Mira was behind the bar smiling, watching her guild mates. Gajeel walked into the guild first, going straight to Mira. “I need to talk to the old man, he here?” She nodded, “He’s in the office, how….” she was cut short when Gajeel walked off to the office. “Hey gramps” he knocked on the door. “Come in my boy” Gajeel walked in scowling more than usual. “What can I do for ya son?” He sat down, taking a deep breath and pinching the bridge of his nose. “Ok look, there was some kind of accident in a town we visited, we didn't get there in time, the whole village is gone, we don't know what happened, it was almost two days after we left.” Gajeel started to pace the floor. “We will need to report this to the council there will need to be an investigation” Gajeel stopped pacing, putting his hand on the desk “and that brings me to my next thing. There was one survivor” The old man raised an eyebrow “Go on” he took another deep breath “Look, you cant let them take him away, it would kill us Master” Gajeel went back to pacing “He’s only a baby, we’re all he has” Makarov stood up at that. “A child?” Gajeel nodded. “We, I mean me and Levy want to raise him. I won't let anyone take him, got that?” Gajeel glared at the old man. “Sit down son, I not going to take him, and if he is attached to yall the council isnt going to want to take responsibility for another orphan in the system.” Gajeel let out a sigh of relief. “Wendy will need to do a check up on him though, figure out just how old he is and make sure he's in good health.” Gajeel nodded. “There’s one more thing Master, I need yer permission to do something”

Levy, Lily and Einar waited outside of the guild hall waiting for Gajeel to come back out. Levy was nervous about how everyone would react to the new unexpected addition, and how Einar would react to his new family. The only people he has had any contact with was her, Lily and Gajeel for almost three weeks. Lily held on to the little boy’s hand as Levy paced, Gajeel was taking forever, just then he came out of the doors. “Master says everything will be fine, he doesn't see the council trying to take Einar away from us” He picked Einar up and tossed him in the air. Einar squealed in delight, “Papa!” Levy giggled, taking his little hand in hers, Gajeel taking the other “You ready Shrimp?” Levy smiled and nodded. “Alright Lily open the doors”

Everyone in the guild stopped as soon as they walked through the doors. Lily flew over to the bar and waited. No one moved or said anything until the Master cleared his throat, “All right brats listen up, we have a new addition today, meet Einar Redfox” The whole guild turned to look at the small boy, who shrank behind Gajeel’s leg. “Come on son, say hi” Gajeel bent down to pick up the tike. “H-Hi” he gave a small shy wave, and the guild burst into cheers. Gajeel handed him off to Levy while he went over to the bar to grab a drink. “Alright Redfox you got some ‘splaining to do” Cana slid a mug over before sitting down next to him. “Kid’s an orphan and we took him in” Cana looked the man over placing a hand on his forehead “Ya feeling k? WAIT did you say we? as in you and little blue?” When Gajeel nodded she fell off the stool she was on. “LEVY!” Jet and Droy were the first to run over to her. “Hi guys, meet your nephew” They both looked at the boy, then back at Levy “N-nephew?” Jet asked, “Yep, I’ll explain later but for now Einar meet your Uncle Jet and Uncle Droy” the boy reached out for them and they obliged his request. “Levy what the hell happened your gone for a month and a half and you come back with a kid?” Lucy stomped over. “Sorry Luce, shit happens?” the bluenette shrugged “Shit happens my ass, we are going to have a lot to talk about at our next sleepover” They both giggled. Natsu and Gray went to talk to Gajeel before the entire guild broke out in a brawl. Einar yawned sleepily and laid his head on Levy’s shoulder. “Gajeel, I think we should call it a night” Gajeel looked over to see her and a sleeping Einar, his heart skipped a beat, he would never get tired of that view. He walked with Levy along the cobblestone path till they got to a fork in the road. “I didnt think about it til now, where is he going to sleep?” Levy looked up at Gajeel. “I figured maybe if you wanna, move in with me?” Levy blushed at his request. “Only if you wanna” He hurriedly said. “Of course Gajeel, we wouldn't be much of a family if we didn't raise him together now would we?” Gajeel swept her up in to his arms, toddler and all. “Let’s go home”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it, the ending of my story. I hope you enjoy it.

Four weeks later, Gajeel and Lily added a room onto their little cottage home in the woods. Einar picked out the paint and helped decorate his room. Grayish blue walls, and dragons, the little tot developed an obsession with them since Levy got him that first toy. Levy laid in bed that morning not feeling well, as the boys finished the room. Einar came running in, “Mama come see” He started talking more with in that first week of being in the guild, they also learned he was almost three years old. “Alright Einar I’m coming send papa up please” the boy went downstairs to get Gajeel. “Lev you ok?” She nodded “Yeah just still a little under the weather, help me walk to see the room ok?” Gajeel picked her up in his arms and carried her to the room, placing her down on the newly laid carpet. “It looks amazing, sorry I haven't been much help” Gajeel rubbed a hand on the small of her back. “Its ok shrimp, but I do want you to see Wendy, you’ve been sick for a week” A wave of nausea hit Levy as she ran down the hall to the bathroom. “That’s it I'm going to get Wendy now, Lily when she’s done take her upstairs back to bed” Gajeel stomped out the room, “Papa me too” Einar ran after Gajeel. “Not this time, take care of mama ok son?” He nodded and went back in to the house. Wendy was at the guild when Gajeel found her. “Oi Wendy, shrimp’s been sick a week can you come check her out?” she nodded and followed him back to his place. 

“Hey Levy, Gajeel came to get me, says you've been sick, how do you feel?” Gajeel took Einar out with Lily to the woods. “Papa, mama ok?” he asked looking sad. “Yeah don't worry about it kiddo, she will be alright.” He patted him on the head. “I’m gonna take you somewhere special while we wait on Aunt Wendy to check on mama, it’s me and Lily’s favorite place” the tot giggled and ran after the little black exceed. Back at the house Wendy had asked Levy a round of twenty questions before resorting to using her healing magic to figure out what was going on. “OH!” She stopped her magic. “What is it?” Levy asked panicked “You're not sick Levy, you're pregnant!” Levy fainted. “Papa!” Einar jumped up and down once they got to the special place. “this is where me and Lily train, soon I can train you here too” Einar’s eyes sparkled. “really?” Gajeel nodded. Einar walked over to the stream that was created by the waterfall. “Not too close son, gotta teach ya how to swim first” Lily flew over and picked the tot up before he could fall in. “Come on, let's go check on mama, we’ll come back later when she feels better” He grabbed Einar’s tiny hand, it fit perfectly inside his. Gajeel walked upstairs holding Einar in his arms. Wendy was just waking her up. “Wendy is she ok, what happened” He placed the toddler on the bed and went to sit next to Levy who was just coming around. “Ah she fainted but she will be fine, I’ll go now” she bowed and left the room. Lily came in and sat next to Einar. “Um, Lily I need to talk to Gajeel could you?” she motioned to Einar. “got ya, come on kid mama needs to talk to pop” they left the room to play down stairs. 

“What’s up shrimp? yer scarin’ me” Levy took his hand in hers and moved over in their bed, patting next to her. He moved on to the bed, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. She placed his hand on her stomach, “Listen closely and tell me what you hear” He looked at her, raising an eyebrow, but closed his eyes. He could hear Einar and Lily downstairs, he could hear his breathing and hers, and both of their heartbeats. One by one he turned all the noise out til all that was left was a faint sound of a drum, no that wasn't a drum. Gajeel opened his eyes and looked at Levy “were going to have a baby” she whispered. Gajeel couldn't believe it, he had spent the last three months as a father and it had been the best three months of his entire life and now they were add one more. He held her close, showering her with kisses. He stood up and went to the desk in their room, pulling out a small box. “I wanted to do this after we finished with all of Einar’s adoption papers but now is just as good” He bent down next to the bed, on one knee. “Will you be mine Levy?, Will you marry me?” Levy’s eyes teared up as she frantically nodded yes, he slipped the ring on her finger. “I got it that first night in the hotel with Einar, when we decided we would raise him.” She smiled, tears spilling over onto her cheeks. “I love you Gajeel” “I love you too”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus chapter next, short and sweet, 5 years in the future. Thanks everyone who has made it this far!


	8. Bonus Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five years after coming home with Einar, how has life changed for the Redfox family?

Einar ran after Lily, heading to the training grounds. The boy had grown a lot in the last few years, he was much taller now, long black locks trailed down his back, pulled up into a ponytail. His shoulders had become wider and looked more like a young man than the small boy they found 5 years ago. “Wait fer me” A small black haired girl ran past Levy as she went to catch up with the boy. “Wait for yer sister Einar!” Gajeel hollered, wrapping an arm around Levy’s waist. Their wedding was held the spring they came home with Einar, their daughter being born shortly after in May. Her fourth birthday just passed, and it was finally her turn to use the training grounds. Gajeel insisted on starting them off early, which Levy reluctantly agreed. Lily lead the way as usual with the children following behind. Levy was heavily pregnant with their last child but insisted on coming with them. Gajeel carried twin two year olds on his shoulders, a boy and girl. Both had their mother’s bright blue locks and brown eyes, but held their father’s love of mischief and adventure. Levy sat under a tree and watched her family in their secret little spot in the woods, rubbing her swollen belly. “and to think Gajeel said he hated kids” she laughed to herself while he rolled in the grass with the twins and their daughter, Einar busy sparing with Lily. She smiled. Who would have guessed.


End file.
